


cadbury crunchies

by hingabee



Category: Metal Gear
Genre: Chocolate Bars, Eating Disorders, M/M, sad teenagers in the late 80s
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-05
Updated: 2017-11-05
Packaged: 2019-01-29 14:41:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12633165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hingabee/pseuds/hingabee
Summary: „I know you don’t like to eat.“





	cadbury crunchies

**Author's Note:**

> i recently had a cadbury crunchie for the first time so this is like some kind of really fucked up advertisement my apologies xoxo

„Come on. Eat up now, will you?“

With a sigh Eli pushes the plastic plate towards Mantis, who is sitting at the end of their makeshift bed, (it is more of a nest of smelly old sleeping mats and various sheets and pillows the two of them have collected over time, really) facing away from him and fumbling with the straps of his mask in his lap.

„I’m not hungry… .“ he mumbles and shifts uncomfortably; maybe to get away further from Eli and the situation at hand, though the other boy doesn’t waste any time and places his own plate on the floor before crawling over to Mantis, grabbing him by the shoulder.

„What’s the problem this time? And don’t give me that ‚I already ate.‘ shite.“, He moves with Mantis as he tries to lean away. „I know you don’t touch any of the stuff I got for you when I am gone, anyway.“ Eli scoffs lightly. „Even though I almost got caught stealing those stupid Crunchie chocolate bars for you.“

Mantis doesn’t reply though Eli definitely starts to notice a wave of annoyance and something that he can only identify as fear radiating from him.

„Oh, so I’m supposed to just let this go now?“, Eli shoves roughly at Mantis; causing the other boy to curl up on himself defensively and jumps to his feet to stare down at him with crossed arms.

„Look, if you want to starve yourself for _whatever_ reason, fine! I don’t care about that!“ Mantis head starts hurting just a little.

„But _I_ am the one who‘s going to have to drag your sorry arse to a doctor, bringing us both into unnecessary danger. So get it together!“

Eli grabs Mantis‘ plate again and takes a spoonful of the sticky porridge he has managed to cook; holding it into Mantis‘ face.

„Eat.“ He says at length.

Silence. Then, quietly;

„No doctors, Eli. Please.“

„Then _eat_.“ Eli growls and presses the spoon against the corner of Mantis‘ mouth; a bit of porridge runs down his chin and drops onto his legs and mask; but he doesn‘t move. With a snarl Eli turns away and throws the spoon on the wooden floor of the tiny attic room they are occupying currently. The loud noise prompts Mantis to flinch and choke out a pathetic sound as he watches Eli disappear into the open attic hatch and pull the unsound board they use to cover the opening after him to close it.

 

  


Mantis feels silly but; he is glad he hasn‘t cried this time, because usually that only makes Eli more angry and disappointed with him, and even _if_ he starts pitying him, the anger never really leaves his mind. He is well aware that Eli mostly just has troubles controlling his emotions and never tends to be upset for long, but still; having all these negative emotions directed at him is simply overwhelming for Mantis.

With an old rag (or possibly dirty shirt; Mantis isn’t sure) that he found on the floor, he cleans the food stains off his mask and shorts carefully and puts the mask back on, sighing a little at the immediate relief of pressure on his mind.

For a while Mantis considers cleaning the entire room simply to get into Eli’s good graces again but figures that the other boy would probably not care,or worse; not even notice his efforts at all.

Instead he decides to curl up on the bed; wraps himself in as many blankets as possible (Mantis is pretty much always freezing but doesn’t bother to dress appropriatly unless Eli makes him) and stares at Eli’s pillow, trying to focus on finding his mind in the mess of souls outside in the streets.

At first he loosely holds on to the trail of Eli’s thoughts that are mostly tainted by an underlying frustration (Mantis makes a face behind his mask knowing it is directed at him) but soon loses track of him when Eli seems to have moved past his radius of power.

Going to sleep is not an option though, since Mantis‘ stomach is growling insistently, to the point that it actually _hurts_ ; Eli hadn't been wrong when he said that Mantis didn’t eat enough, and soon he finds himself tossing and turning under the covers.

„Stupid Eli… .“ he mumbles to himself as if the other boy is somehow responsible for his hunger (quite the opposite actually) and buries his face in the pillows that, even with his mask on, smell strongly off coffee, sweat and a hint of shampoo. A light rustling of plastic greets him; Mantis looks up, and after a moment of hesitation reaches into the little mountain of fabric and feathers only to dig out a handful of candy, Crunchie bars included. Of course. He lets out an awkward, hoarse chuckle and puts one of the bars aside before pushing the rest of this little treasure back into the pillows.

For an embarrassingly long time Mantis just smiles at the shiny chocolate bar in his hands, holding on to the thought that, yes; Eli has specifically gotten these for him. Apparently even risked getting caught (though Mantis highly doubts the truth behind this statement; Eli tends to exaggerate when he gets exasperated like earlier) simply because Mantis once passingly mentioned that Crunchie bars did not taste „completly horrible“.

Which, frankly, had been a lie. They were much too sweet for his tastes and the way the golden caramel stuck to his teeth had made him want to pull them out one by one so that disgusting sugary taste would finally stop assaulting his senses.

But he eats the bar in only a few bites; shoves his mask up just enough to get it into his mouth and chews on the caramel while pressing his eyes shut in concentration. It’s not as horrible as he remembers, though that may only be because he is so damn hungry; so Mantis reaches for another candy bar, doesn’t even bother with the chocolate smeared all over his lips and chin; just keeps going until there's nothing left but crumpled plastic wrappers.

He is woken by someone tugging the last bits of Crunchie wrappers out of his closed fist and blinks up sleepily at Eli; his face only barely visible in the dimly lit room.

„Go back to sleep. I’ll be there in a second.“

He nods and closes his eyes again, listens to Eli rummage around, turn off the lights, strip off his clothing and eventually crawl into the nest of blankets beside him. Wet hair brushes against his shoulders and neck and Mantis shivers.

Despite his need to make Eli happy and give him the privacy he demands, Mantis reaches out mentally to check up on his thoughts; he isn’t mad anymore, actually only had been angry for a few minutes before the heavy rain and darkness of the street had distracted him. At some point Eli had poured some cheap, stolen whiskey down his throat; the uncomfortable burn, the following coughing fit and nausea still lingering close beneath the surface of his mind.

Mantis shifts under the covers and gets ready to say something but gasps when ice cold feet touch his own, causing him to whip his head around, almost hitting Eli in the face with the filter of his mask.

Then they just look at each other until Eli snorts and grins.

„You really ate all of the chocolate, didn’t you?“

Mantis only nods. Eli laughs.

„Idiot,“ he says with way too much affection in his voice that makes Mantis turn around and lean closer against him, generously ignoring the fact that he is cold and wet. „You’re going to get a stomach ache if you only eat candy. You need real food.“

 _I don’t care_ , Mantis thinks, too lazy and tired to speak out loud; Eli picks up on it anyway and sighs.

„If you don’t eat you're going to stay tiny forever, you know that."

_I am not tiny._

"Yes, you are. Smaller than me anyway."

Mantis can’t look at his face anymore and turns around again, Eli’s feet stay where they are; safely tucked between his ankles. They haven’t slept this close in a while; when they were younger and the nightmares more frequent they usually had been curled up together at the end of the night, even despite (or maybe because) of Eli’s initial protests. But they are no children anymore; Eli calls himself an adult; and it’s true somehow, Mantis must admit; he is much taller and his voice doesn’t even break anymore when he gets upset.

„I know you don’t like to eat.“, Eli muses and before Mantis can start pouting or crawl away from him there's an arm wrapped around his chest; Eli’s hands are almost as cold as his feet.

„But you never told me why. I want to know.“

There’s a huff and Mantis only belatedly realises that he himself is the one who made the noise; Eli’s thoughts are intrusive and his emotions even more so; like he is digging at Mantis‘ mind to find access to all his secrets. Not that he has many of those anyway.

It is very uncomfortable, but it also _isn’t_ in a way that makes Mantis feel warm; almost hot; as Eli’s grip tightens around him when he squirms under the mental assault.

_Stop trying to control me, Eli. I don’t like that._

The little hairs on his neck stand up as wet breath hits his skin and Eli buries his face in Mantis‘ hair.

„I can’t control you, idiot.“ He mumbles. „I can only look at what you let me see. You told me that yourself.“

Mantis wants to be angry and push Eli away but he is too exhausted for any of that and too frustrated with the fact that Eli is completely _right_ , Mantis must be subconsciously broadcasting his thoughts and feelings to him again; he still hasn’t managed to gain complete control of that aspect of their bond.

Control… . That is what this is all about anyway.

Eli moves even closer against him, as if physical proximity could somehow make it easier to understand Mantis‘ thoughts. He means well; even if it is for his own selfish reasons; so Mantis lets him pass and closes his eyes to concentrate and give a clearer picture.

 

  


When he comes to a few moments later he is shaking heavily and curling up in a ball while Eli frantically tries to calm him. There are hands on his shoulders and in his hair and when Eli’s arm wraps around him he gasps trying to remind himself that these touches are _good_ ; that _he_ is allowing them.

Mantis manages to turn around and presses himself against Eli’s chest, not bothering if hes a child or an adult now; he _chooses_ to do this. Eli just holds him; runs his fingers through Mantis‘ curls and slips them underneath the straps of his mask; so reluctant to, but pushing through his own denial to comfort them both.

And it is hard for Mantis to _not_ to appreciate that.


End file.
